“Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30. Then for three years, He was an itinerant preacher.

He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him.

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His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial.

He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth — His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.”

— Excerpt is from a sermon by Dr. James Allan Francis in “The Real Jesus and Other Sermons,” a collection published in 1926 by the Judson Press of Philadelphia.

I am devoting space to this message again because the Christmas season has been undermined by the secular progressive movement and its allies, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the mainstream media.

As more Americans begin to realize how much of a threat to American society the ACLU and its politically correct backers have become, it’s worth pausing to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas is not a winter festival. It’s not a designation of a retail season. It is not about Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It’s not about holiday parties or colorful lights. Christmas is a holy day. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior for billions of people who call themselves Christians. It is the second most important date in the Christian calendar, second only to Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The commercialization of Christmas is not a new phenomenon, but the all-out assault on Christmas by militant atheists has reached a fever pitch.

Why are children forced to immerse themselves in Kwanzaa (a harvest festival invented by a radical California college professor in 1966) but students are not allowed to study the historic and cultural significance of the Judeo-Christian heritage that founded the United States?

Why is Christmas a federal holiday but no mention of it is allowed in schools? The minority of non-believers can spin it any way they want, but Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

It’s time for Christians to take back Christmas. For starters, wish everyone a “Merry Christmas” instead of the generic “Happy Holidays.”

Avoid stores that put up “Season’s Greetings” banners instead of “Merry Christmas” signs. Display the Nativity on your front lawn instead of Santa or Rudolph or Frosty. Gather with your family and watch a movie like “The Nativity Story,” the 2006 movie that faithfully follows the Gospel account of the birth of Jesus. Attend a church service on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Stand up to the secular fringe groups that attack Christmas every year. Christians make up 85 percent the U.S. population. Demand your local school board restore Christmas to an equal footing with the “harvest festivals” the secular progressives are pushing.

When it comes to the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, it’s time for Christians to stop turning the other cheek and stand up for their faith.

Tony Phyrillas is city editor of The Mercury. Email him at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com Check out his blog at http://tonyphyrillas.blogspot.com Follow him on Twitter @TonyPhyrillas